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Anderson declares himself OK to start Game 3

Anderson declares himself OK to start Game 3

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Brett Anderson

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MLB.com |

DETROIT -- A's lefty Brett Anderson didn't need an official announcement to declare his status for Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Tuesday.

"I'm ready to go," said Anderson, his right oblique injury no longer a concern. "You don't know how many times you're going to make it to the postseason, so I'm going to cherish this moment. Everyone's got nicks and nacks at this point in the season, so just put Icy Hot on it and get after it."

Oakland, however, waited to name its starter for the third game of the best-of-five series against Detroit until Monday, shortly before the club's afternoon workouts. With the A's on the verge of elimination in the ALDS, Anderson's presence in Game 3 will be all the more significant.

That puts rookie righty A.J. Griffin in line to start a potential Game 4 on Wednesday.

"I think the better [Anderson] feels day to day, hour to hour, we'd like to be able to pitch him in [Game] 3," manager Bob Melvin said. "So we still hold that out to potentially be the case, but I think we're probably more prudent to announce that tomorrow.

"It's mostly how he feels. We want to try to get him in a game as soon as we can -- and that's regardless. So if he feels good enough to go, whether we win, lose, we'd like to pitch him sooner than later."

Anderson, 24, played catch on Sunday morning and claimed his oblique "definitely good enough to pitch," noting that come Tuesday, "I also think the adrenaline and the magnitude of the game will help get me through."

There will seemingly also be an extra dose of motivation on Anderson's side, given the fact he may feel he has a job to finish, having suffered his injury in the third inning of a start against the Tigers, having already given up three runs in an eventual loss.

"That would be just another awesome ending to an adverse chapter this team's had," Jonny Gomes said.